#the one time they actually have the book im looking for and it's just in limbo somewhere

[anniflamma]

Okay… I’m going to rant about a book that I read a while ago.... And I can’t deny it anymore… it was a bad book.

The Passion of Sergius and Bacchus by David Reddish. It’s a romantic retelling of the Christian saints Sergius and Bacchus.

To tell the story briefly about these saints, Sergius and Bacchus were third-century Roman soldiers and Christian martyrs. The oldest record of their martyrdom describes them as erastai (Greek for “lovers”). Scholars believe they may have been united in the rite of adelphopoiesis, a kind of early Christian same-sex union. When their Christian faith became known, after they refused to attend sacrifices to Zeus, Sergius and Bacchus were arrested and paraded through the streets in women’s clothing in an unsuccessful effort to humiliate them. The reason it failed was that the duo didn’t feel humiliated being dressed as women. After that they were both executed. Bacchus was beaten to death and Sergius was forced to walk in inward-iron-spiked metal shoes to another town and there was executed.

So, of course, when I found out there was a book retelling about them, I bought it immediately and obviously ignored the negative reviews. I read it with rose-tinted glasses on and loved it! Sure, I could see some red flags, but I ignored them, and to be honest, there are some parts of the book that is very good.

But here’s the problem with it: Reddish’s way of portraying women is… very questionable. For example, there are only two named female characters in the book. Only two. The first one is Helen, whose personality traits are that she’s pregnant and stupid. Im not kidding. Not that she actually does anything dumb, the narrative just tells us she’s stupid. She don't do anything, like she takes parts in some conversations with the other male characters but other than that, nothing. But the book itself and the maincharacters acts like she is the most dumb person there is. Later in the book, she dies, motivating another male character to make irrational decisions out of grief. Her only purpose is to serve as a plot device when she dies.....

The second named female character is Miriam (I remember right...), and she’s a homophobe. She does have a small arc where she recognizes she’s wrong, the next chapter she’s back to being homophobic again, and the narrative nor other characters doesn’t acknowledge her regression.

Trigger warning for the topic of rape.

Then there’s another female character who appears in the book. She doesn’t have a name. She’s basically just a narrative device to show that Sergius is a good person. There’s a scene where Sergius finds a group of Roman men raping a 14-year-old girl. He kills them and saves her. He doesn’t speak to her, she have no speaking lines, and then… Sergius just leaves and continues with whatever he was doing before. The plot moves on, and it’s never mentioned again....This entire scene happens in less than one page. At first, I thought it would come back to bite Sergius, you know, because he just killed four Roman men.... but nope! It was just there to show that Sergius thinks rape is bad and that he’s a skilled fighter who can take down four men at once. That’s all. Wtf?

This is why I hate stories that use rape as a tool to make a male character look good...

And then there’s the moment when Sergius and Bacchus were forced to be dressed in women’s clothing… In this retelling book, it’s portrayed as deeply shameful. Sergius has a long inner monologue about how awful he feels seeing Bacchus in women’s clothing, blah blah blah.

Like… this book shits on every single female character it has, and when it reaches the part where, in the original story, the men proudly embrace being “Brides of Christ,” it does the exact opposite. Yet Sergius is described as empathetic toward women’s suffering, that guy have inner monologues about how much he thinks that women should be treated better but at the same time he’d rather be physically tortured than wear women’s clothing.... And Sergius nor the narrative never questions why Sergius feel that way.... Talk about the irony... a modern retelling of an ancient story about two men who proudly embrace becoming "Brides of Christ" which leads to their death, yet in this version, it’s portrayed as something shameful.

How do you, as an author, take an old story from the freaking third century and potray it like this? There is no women in the legend so all these female characters are made up by the author... I can't help it but it feels like this author just simply don't like women... I really wanted to like this book... but once you see it without the redtinded glasses... it's really hard for me to recommend it... Stay away guys.

[crazylittlejester]

Holy crap I haven't looked at your account in a while (idk why but your posts just haven't been popping up on my home page) and I saw your new pfp! IT'S ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!! Your art is so good!!

Also I wanted to hear about your personal head cannons for Warriors because I would love to hear them!!

a lot of people have been telling me that actually, that they’re not seeing my posts on their dash anymore, i wonder if something is going on with that :( (and also IVE noticed that my engagement has been down, tho i’d thought that’s just because this is a busy time of year)

HEHE THANK YOU!! :3 i love my blorbo and the voices wanted me to draw him again

god there are. so. so many that i have- but to list off a few:

- middle child (he’s number four of seven), and im so set on this one. he has six sisters (one of which is his twin (Linkle)) because i know in my heart this man was raised by women. also i hc his mom is still alive because he deserves a living mother after everything (and he loves her and shes awesome and she misses him very very much)

- he has the worst vision ever, he cant see more than like 20 feet away from him without things just getting blurry, but he genuinely doesn’t realize that his vision is shit he thinks hes normal

- due to his burn scars its hard for him to regulate his temperature so he overheats easily in hot weather if hes not careful

- i hc after the war he took in two cats that he found abandoned in a destroyed village. he tried to find who they belonged to but couldn’t, and initially he wasn’t going to keep them but then he got attached and now those are his babies and his girls (Rosie and Delilah). He knits them sweaters because they have no fur and knitting is a good productive mindless activity for him to do when he’s stressed

- on a similar note: i hc he has experience as a tailor and is very good at sewing and mending things because while his family does own a small farm and sell some crops (he’s a country boy turned city boy and this is another hill i will die on), they’re tailors and thats the main way they make money

- absolutely terrified of cuccos because Linkle would chase him around with them when they were kids and eventually the cuccos took this to mean any time they saw Warriors they were to chase him, without Linkle even being there

- i hc his eyes are hazel and that his hair is naturally dark brown and very curly, but he started bleaching and straightening it when he ended up in the army and got to Castletown

- hes scared to go home to his family now that the war is over because he’s worried hes changed too much as a person after everything he went through and he can’t mentally handle the idea of being rejected from a place he gets so much comfort from just thinking about, so he keeps his distance and is full of some pretty lame ass excuses as to why he wont go home (it’s been well over a decade. i hc he left at 15-16 and is currently 27 almost 28). Linkle is the only blood relative he’s seen since he left for the war and she tries to convince him to come home whenever she sees him

- i hc he looks just like his mom, which is a blessing and a curse for him because he can never hate his face because he is literally IDENTICAL to his mom and he loves and misses her so much, but it’s painful to look at himself in the mirror sometimes. Linkle, being his TWIN, is can also be hard to look at

- HUGE history nerd, and getting to travel through the eras and learn about them has been the most exciting thing to ever happen to him. he didn’t have access to a formal education as a kid, he would’ve been home schooled basically, and once the war was over and he had access to a library full of knowledge from all over the place on topics he’d never even realized existed he just started reading and didn’t stop. he LOVES to learn and he loves to explore, and half his journal is just all his observations on the eras a little notes and could literally be a history book on its own. he draws diagrams and maps and all sorts of stuff in there, and when he goes home he LOVES getting to tell people the history books are fucking wrong

- the other half of his journal contains more personal things, and also notes on his companions and strategies for battles (he is INCREDIBLY observant and keeps very detailed notes. his journal is basically an extension of his brain because the ADHD can make it hard to keep track of all his thoughts sometimes). none of it is written in ‘hyrulian common’ (english), the entire thing is in his native language (portuguese) written in an alphabet none of the chain are able to read (and no one in War’s Castletown and read it either. should someone take his journals it would take them a good long while to translate them)

- his left hand is a little messed up, sometimes it shakes and sometimes his grip is really weak, so on days his wrist isn’t strong enough to wield his sword in a way that makes him feel safe, he brings out the fire rod. two handed weapon, offers him more stability, and yeah he also does just like watching shit go up in flames

- he’s actually an introvert. the loud obnoxious personality is something that was created from rumors and expectations of him from the kingdom and the whole ‘Captain’ persona is really just like some character he plays. he’s definitely a bit dramatic at his core, but hes a much more quiet and reserved person than he comes off as. he greatly values his privacy and alone time

[mariailoveyou-guerin]

I was wondering why Perrin had this deep connection to Faile so fast but then I remembered 2 things 1 Jacob with his imprinting thing what if he has that and 2 ofc they cb each time and are in love with the same person in every lifetime so she’s his soulmate

in each turn of the wheel why their connection felt so natural and easy almost no work bc it’s always them in every lifetime bitch now I’m actually crying! I wasn’t sure if they have same parents each turn of the wheel but this just sealed it for me why they are so THEM

he was already worried about her, didn’t want her joining in the camp and fact he didnt even flinch that this random girl he’s know for like 3days had a knife to his throat and her ready to go fight next to him! Yeah they really that IT couple in the books and the show

How are they outdoing nynaeve and lan just like that as the best ship on this show and books! lan nyn get off the floor please you embarrassing me and the kids! Joking but it’s crazy they are already on nyn/lan level of superior ships in this show this is day2 on the job too

she didn’t flinch either his hand flew past her face and she got tiny face too and his hand is so big! I can’t with them! also love how mr im no leader they don’t follow just have the most powerful warriors Aiel woman and aes sedai follow his every word sir i thought you said

you wasn’t a leader then what is this the commands coming so easily and why are they following without hesitation? to save your family people that they’ve never met? gonna need this giant himbo (he’s very smart strategic guess simbo is better fit for him)to be fr!

last time I checked he wasn’t the dragon so they have no obligation to him or risk their own lives to him alanna maksim just met him Faile too! Loial and Aiel girls that’s their bestie they know he’ll do it fit them without a second thought so they respect him an people like that

Alanna was so bada88 here #TheWheelOfTimeSeason3 exactly girly tell him damn you prime won’t let me show the picture so it’s just black not that it’s much different from the actual scene! but here’s the words! still equal badass she really becoming my fav always loved her but now

the enemies to lovers excellence they could’ve had if his soulmate was right there and if dain didn’t do that to mats mom😔! A shame cuz this actually real fantasy enemies to lovers the whole trying to k1ll each other thing is where its at PEAK the angst spanding years continents

Faile the woman you are, (I love you what who said that?) so badass your fighting skills on pair with Aiel woman beating 4 men all by your tiny self and knives 🔪 marry me leave Perrin #TheWheelOfTime he’s just a man (the finest of them all but still nonetheless less a man) so…

Maksim Faile seeing the people they love almost getting ended and jumping in to save them and k1ll them all exactly we love a good duo!

Perrin making his axe with his boo and not her becoming a blacksmith before me that’s crazy cuz I’ve been googling trying to learn what that is and what they do so I could be one me literally a or so week back! Searching if we have one here #TheWheelOfTime how she already one?😭

Poor Perrin he gonna k1ll himself for what happened to Natti after he said no one was getting hurt (I just know now he won’t take the leadership position even more bc of what happened one time he did)😔hasn’t he suffered enough and has to tell Mat it’ll k1ll them both!

Perrin always saving and getting people out of cages oh the man he is! #wheeloftime and hope Mat stays safe but I doubt it (poor guy thinking he’s safe with nyn for sh*t to hit him on top of his mom being) why it gotta be them 😔 how is gonna be able to tell him trough a letter

It’s still taking me out how Faile screamed No they are soulmates damn! Probably look for each other in every lifetime! cuz if a giantic man with such eyes was in my face and his hand went by me I would’ve at least flinched (granted hes gorgeous man those are so pretty but still)

[creations-of-the-dreamlight]

Drarry idea fic/drabble

Harry hadn’t a clue where he wandered. The snake was long gone by now, and he was sure the Dursleys were even farther. Going even further when they realize Harry is gone.

The alley he walked down was bustling and strange. People wearing robes and pointy hats, carrying broomsticks and boiling pots. Something was extremely different here compared to anywhere else Harry had been. Of course, that list didn’t have a lot of names. He could only confidently speak on the cupboard and the kitchen.

Despite having no money on him, he determined it was best to find a shop. He could sit in it for a bit, then find the shopkeep to help him back home. Without a second thought he pulled into the nearest storefront.

Apparently, he had pulled into a library. Rows upon rows of book lined the walls, thick and bound in colorful leather. He hardly got to read when he was home, and what he did wasn’t what he wanted to. He ran up to one of the shelves. His eye was immediately caught three glimmering spines. They were laced with gold leaf and had a title in cursive he couldn’t read. He reached for the prettiest one- the white one, with the most gold leaf and some red markings. He flipped it open and scanned for the description. However there was none. It just jumped straight into the scene.

Harry figured out there were two main characters. Roman and Leo. The two boys had started attending school not long ago, and were struggling to fit in. They knew each other well, and were speaking about events that must have happened in their past. Their school was-

“That’s the third in the series, this is the first.” A voice next to him explained. “You need to know how they get to know each other for it to stick.”

The boy was about the same height as him, maybe a little taller. He wore all black, aside from a green tie and white button up. His coat was long, angular, and reached to the floor. His face was the most fascinating to Harry. He seemed ethereal almost- with his platinum blonde hair, grey eyes, and pale skin. His gaze was calm yet cold, mysterious. Harry felt like he just met some sort of fae creature, or angel, who was here to educate him on books.

“There’s 5 books in the series, but this store only carries the first 3. I had to order in the last two- which was a hassle but, they are only 20 galleons each,”

“Galleons?” Harry asked.

“Well yes. It’s not cheap.” He responded. Harry wanted to poke further on what a galleon was, but he was stopped by the boy. “Is that scar real?” He questioned, perplexed and slightly offended.

Harry pulled back his hair and rubbed it. “If I wanted to fake a scar, I’d pick a cooler one,” He chuckled a bit at what he said, but stopped quickly when he saw the shocked look on the others face.

“You’re Harry Potter,” he announced.

Harry stood for a moment, silent. Unsure of how to respond.

“Umm… yes? But how did you know that?”

“What do you mean? You’re the most famous bloody wizard of all time. Besides Dumbledore at least. I’m surprised there’s not a mob following you.”

Wizard? Famous? A mob? None of those concepts were something Harry would attribute to himself. He remembered for a few minutes reading something in the newspaper. Some people enjoyed to play pretend in large spaces like this.

“I’m sorry. Im not, um, ‘larp’-ing right now. How did you actually figure out my name.”

The blond laughed, face in a confused smile. “What did you just say? Did you get hit on the head or something? You’re Harry blumming Potter. The scar says it all.”

“But how? I don’t roleplay. I don’t even leave the house.”

“What are you talking about? What is roleplay?”

“What your talking about, I assume,”

“I’m talking about you! Are you ok?” He leans in to take a closer look at Harry. He shakes his head, turning back to check their surroundings. “When I dreamt of meeting you, Harry Potter, I did not think I’d be fighting you about your identity,”

Like it was nothing, the boy whipped out a small, wooden wand. He pointed it at the three books on the shelf, and they floated into a neat stack in front of him. “Here, let’s talk somewhere else.”

Wide eyed and pinching his skin, Harry followed. He led the brunette to a small reading nook in the corner. The boy sat Harry down, and proceeded to start looking in a box. He flicked his wand again, and a bright log he emerged at the top.

“Um, you didn’t tell me your name,” Harry said meekly.

“I’m Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.”

What should he say? ‘Hey where did you get that fancy stick?’ ‘What does my scar have to do with any of this’ ‘How are you doing that that should not be humanly possible’

“Draco is a really neat name,”

“Thank you. It’s based after a constellation, I believe.”

“I wish mine was as cool as that,”

“Are you joking? You have the name of the century. Anyone would be glad to have your name, your life- anything. Except maybe the whole ‘he who shall not be named,’ part, of course.”

“Draco- The more you speak the less sense you make. What in the world are you talking about? And while we’re at it- How in the world are you doing that!?!” He pointed at the boys wand.

Draco flicked it up, and some sparks of light flew out. “Like how anyone else does it?”

“Because people just casually do magic? Bollocks.”

Draco turned back, making his wand brighter, then pulled out a dusty newspaper. He shoved it into Harry’s hand, unfurled it, and pointed to a headline.

“ Harry Potter survives unforgivable curse and kills the dark lord, has been missing since. “

There, surely enough, was his name in bold. Below was a picture of his parents. Except this one moved. He almost burst into tears. There, right there on this yellow tinged piece of paper that was slowly crumbling, was his mom and dad. Smiling at him for the first time in his life. A real, moving, breathing smile.

He gripped the paper and took every word in carefully.

“James and Lily Potter, rebels against The Dark Lord, were found dead just yesterday. Slain by the killing curse in their own home. Alongside them? The Dark lord himself. It would seem their infant son, Harry Potter, managed to survive the killing curse. How a baby managed to kill He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, no one knows. Maybe he reflected the curse onto him? Or somehow absorbed it, making him possibly one of the strongest wizards the magic realm has ever seen. As of now his whereabouts are unknown. All that’s for sure is, today shall be a day of joy and sorrow. Although a price was payed- the evil has fallen. We all sit in waiting, hoping our savior Harry Potter will return to us safely.”

Draco looked over the paper at Harry. “See? Had to jog your memory I see. It’s- are you ok?”

Fucking no.

“They said it was a car crash.” Harry spat out. Angry, confused, depressed. Everything you can feel at once.

“Who did?”

“Not someone I will ever consider my family again,” Harry stood up and started pacing around the room. His whole life in this moment was unraveling. And this random blonde boy who made it change is laughing at him.

“Is this like some Potter preformance piece? Your debut to the world?”

“I live in a cupboard, Draco! I live in a cupboard and I was told that my parents died in a car crash. I was told I was just a burden of a boy whose only purpose was to clean and shut up. No it’s not some debut, it’s not some show. I’m not even sure I’m human- since when was magic a thing?”

It seemed Harry’s desperate cries were enough to make Draco realize he wasn’t lying. Harry truly knew nothing about the wizarding world.

[pepperpixel]

Initial drawings of that old man… I literally, I haven’t finished reading the book of bill yet!!! I had to stop and take a break for a week to feverishly draw fanart of myself petting fords floofy hair and giving him attention and shit…!!!! The urge was too great….!! I’ve literally. I had a crush on this guy the instant he was first REVEALED in the show, but I did not have the artistic prowess to draw good looking old men back then… but I do now… thank god… thank fucking god

[b4kuch1n]

siren

[dorothywonderland]

I started doodling greek gods, it's over for me. I have to accept that I'm officially addicted to epic the musical

[cosmic-walkers]

I haven't seen a lot of people talk about him but harry melling absolutely killed it as wriothsely. for one of the first times we see the character of wriothsely really focused on in tudor media, he did an outstanding job at portraying a flawed, torn, nuanced and morally ambiguous risley. i loved him, and his ability to have amazing chemistry with mark rylance.

i could almost look past the fact that he didn't have red hair, in s2 even tho the s1 actor had it. idk maybe they ran out of lightener, copper hair color and 50 vol developer on set but he did good.

[northern-passage]

i've been thinking a lot about the word "representation" and what it means and how it's changed over the last few years, particularly when it comes to the writing/publishing landscape but also in movies and tv shows… and i really don't like it anymore. to be clear, of course i think it's important to have diversity in your work, i'm not saying i hate the concept of representation. but i do really dislike the way it's used now, and i really just hate the word itself

in a broader sense it's just become a marketing tool. i'm not impressed by any publisher or author who just describes their book by listing all of the minorities/identities the characters represent as if that should be enough. it feels very gross, very exploitative and disingenuous. it also really bothers me because it's always marginalized identities- which i understand Why, but it feels very othering to me (and again. Very exploitative as an advertisement). you would never list out "cishet able-bodied white man" as a character description to pat yourself on the back over. so why do it to everyone else? why insinuate that one is the "default" and the other one is "special"? (and when i say this i'm mainly talking about advertisements/marketing. i understand why people would specify about characters in descriptions with the plot, but i don't like to see an ad that's just "this book has gay people!" with nothing else)

which then leads me to my other point, which is that a lot of people treat "representation" as if it's "too hard." like "oh i don't know enough to write about that, i don't have that experience, etc" which is a fair way to feel! however… it's weird that people only say this about writing trans characters or characters of color. i'm writing a story right now with a character who is really into motorcycles. i personally do not know that much about motorcycles, so i researched what parts are what & what different kinds of models there are & what basic bike care looks like. i guarantee Most people will have to google something at some point in their writing process. so what's the problem? it also, again, feels very othering when authors treat certain groups of people as "impossible" to write, "too hard" to understand. they are just.. people. you write them as a person. and then you figure out the rest later.

and i think part of the refusal or fear to write something outside of your experience is because of the way representation is treated as So Special. these characters are So Special that they aren't allowed to be anything other than "representation." they're Not allowed to be characters with complex emotions and interesting motivations, they have to just be Trans or Gay or Disabled or whatever. they're not allowed to be people. which means, at the end of the day, we loop right back around to where we were at the start….

there is bad representation. there are depictions of certain marginalized people that are harmful and that are damaging, i'm not trying to minimize that or argue against it at all, in fact we should all be mindful of that while writing and reading. but i also think it's possible to swing too far in the opposite direction as well and put certain groups of people on a pedestal and not allow them to do anything at all but be Perfect Representation, if that makes sense.

[waywardsalt]

1 and 8 for the choose violence ask game?

1 (the character that everyone gets wrong): ok this one is tricky for me bc to some degree im cool with ooc-ish stuff on the case of like aus/personal interpretation/whatever AND i am actually someone who doesnt actually read a lot of fanfic and doesnt have tooooo many really strong feelings abt characters outside of phantom hourglass so this one i had to think abt for a bit for a character that i have strong enough feelings on and actually like. care and know how ppl popularly interpret them. i am a bit of a hater but its very specific haterism a lot of the time. so i don’t really have much of an answer for this? (except to say im a bit put off by ww/ph link as like some hardened rough and tumble pirate type, that’s always felt off to me)

8 (common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about): shut up about linebeck committing tax fraud shut UP about linebeck and tax crimes he’s a THIEF like CANONICALLY textually theres a whole fucking subplot that’s caused by him being a THIEF BITCH. he recommends theft to link at least once. shut the FUCK up about fucking tax fraud. what you all want is that mob psycho cunt. burglary is a hotter crime anyways.

[torchstelechos]

God, I just want a fanfic about the absolute wild internet fandom and discourse of PIDW. Just full stop make it a chat/discord sever fic with both SQQ and SQH in it but neither know and they have another meltdown relationship on this server. Enough so that the fans make jokes that they’re just alts of SQQ and SQH (which is true but no one actually believes this). Make the final chapter present day them figuring it out and wailing on each other in anger. I need this more than I need air.

[quirinah]

how do you get your colors to look so nice and your lineart so red and vibrant? i love it

omg anon thank you!! 😭 im going 2 be honest I am Not Great with color theory... but i like having my sketch pages look cohesive to me...

BUCKLE UP this is going to need a readmore bc i like talking.

I always sketch in neon colors it's a habit i picked up from an old teacher but I'll think of a color usually on a whim and draw with that. and then if i want to draw something else ill pick another color that i think goes well with the page. usually most of my color schemes r analogous (colors right next to each other on the wheel)

yanked this from recent dunmesh post; i kept most of my colors within the pink/red/orange range.

i wouldn't recommend doing everything in monochrome or analogous palettes though because it's sort of a guilty crutch of mine XD.

sometimes when im coloring ill change the layer mode of the sketch. color burn gets you either very very bright or very very deep colors depending on the color of the flats underneath. multiply and linear burn do the same thing but they're a lot tamer and generally always return darker colors. im sure there's some technical bits behind this though. ill either color my lineart afterward to compliment the color of the flats, leave it as is, or mess with layer modes if i feel like it. my favorite trick is color burn + linear burn + some combination of two lineart layers and just fiddling until i get a nice burn effect.

mithrun was done with crimson red on color burn.

coloring... like 999% of this is relative color which is like. kind of the idea that colors look different when placed next to each other. if you eyeball it a bit it's pretty noticeable.

what i used to do a bit ago was i would fill in the area i wanted to color with one big mask of color, make a new layer that has a clipping mask down to the flat layer of color, and then draw my actual flat colors. the color of the mask helped me pick my flat colors bc if I picked a color i think stood out too much next to the mask i could kind of just adjust it until it looked a little more cohesive.

old ish drawing next 2 a canon reference. i ignore local color a lot...mea culpa....but my overall color palette here was a light pink, so the shirt here is actually a desaturated pink? or violet i believe. if you shift sort of that purple color far enough into the gray area of your color wheel it can take on a blueish or even greenish hue. it being next to a lot of warm pinks/fuschias helps.

a neat thing that kind of helps is that if you desaturate or saturate certain colors they can kind of take on a certain hue? not sure if this makes sense. sort of how orange here turns tealish blue the grayer it gets. so if im drawing something that's predominantly orange and i have a blue color i can just take an orange color and desaturate it until i get a color that sort of looks like blue. and that way it kind of looks more harmonious? at least to me XD

shading. i don't apply serious lighting to a lot of my drawings, but a helpful bit is that the shadows tend to be the opposite of whatever color the lighting is? i try to think first about the "mood" or the main color i want to go for in the drawing and then i pick a shadow color opposite of that. so for here, i wanted the lighting to be a coolish magenta so the shadows r lime green. if there's anything off i fiddle around until i get something i like. the shadows on the skin here were too green initially so i shifted them a little more orange.

there's a "band" of color going on between the transition of the shadows to the light. generally this could be for a lot of reasons and i tend to use it differently (core shadow? overexposure? etc etc). but this is a color post so ill try not to go too off track.

but generally digital doesn't "mix" colors the same way traditional colors do if you use RGB (cmyk is a bit better with this but is kind of a pain to get used to), so to make blending a little less muddy, i sometimes add an intermediate color to smooth things out a little. for example, mixing digitally blue n yellow tends to get you gray, but generally, blue + yellow makes green, so if im making a blue->yellow transition ill slap some green color in the middle so it flows a little better.

I do a lot more cel shading nowadays. if you've been on here for a while earlier this year i have another style of coloring but it's not really accurate to how shadows really work so i wouldn't recommend looking at it. it's mostly to add zest and texture to the underlying flat colors.

coloring your lineart does a TON to helping your colors look vibrant, though its like the garnish on a dish to me (same with shadows). i think it's good to try and play with your flat colors and try to make sure those look in order first before adding flourishes. usually ill leave it a dark, saturated color that again matches my overall palette but sometimes i go in and color them by alpha locking my lineart layer and picking a color that matches the flat colors underneath? not sure how to explain it properly.

i used a darkish purple for shuro's ponytail to match the dull red of the flat colors (more relative color! trying to simulate a black/brown while keeping the pink palette there) but a lighter crimson for laios's blond. the light was this super intense like blush pink so i thought it might be cool to add this neon salmon red in the areas of that light to really give off that vibe of a very bright intense rim light.

sometimes you could also tweak with gradient maps or color balance, which adjusts hue based on how light or dark a color is. these r fun to mess with as a final touch but i need to watch using them because they can become crutches real fast XD but those are also just tools to help you. in the end just developing a good sense of how color works and how you want to use it is the best place to start.

LONGASS ramble but yeah. tldr just kind of train ur eye for color and look at what you like best. which is unhelpful and a little sucky but it really is just observation and practice and maybe some personal zest.

happy drawing!

[salemruinseverything]

hypothetically if one were looking to obtain a full set of a semi-obscure children's book series,

[girlivealwaysbean]

i hate getting gifts because first of all are you trying to buy me make me feel obligated to you so I feel the need to be polite and sweet to you all the time and secondly once you inevitably leave what the fuck am i supposed to do with them

[hollow-vok]

Ohh im obssesed

[holysheithyall]

wow i have not posted anything here in a while soz